Fly Fishing for Northern Pike on Pactola Reservoir was some of our favorite fishing of last season, and definitely some of the most exciting. We landed a good number of fish in the 30"-40" range, caught a few that were 40 plus, and saw some true leviathans that were pushing the 50" mark. A four-foot long fish with a a mouthful of teeth and bad intentions chasing down your fly is enough to rattle even the most seasoned fly fisherman. Pike in Pactola is a sore subject for some people, but we had loads of fun sight casting giant flies to aggressive fish, and we think it's a pretty darn fun thing to do. We want to be able to share this experience with more people, and we've come up with an option that will give everyone the full experience of fly fishing for the water wolf!
This spring we are going to offer a Pike Fly Fishing School, which will include the following -
- An evening class on how to tie a few of our favorite and most productive Pike flies
- Rigging, knots, and terminal tackle lesson the same evening as the tying class
- A half or full day guided trip with one of our guides on Pactola, which includes use of rods, tackle, flies, and boat.
There will be two options for the school - a half day which will be $299, and a full day which will cost $475. Tentatively, we're going to shoot for the end of April, but we will adjust accordingly for the weather and conditions. The tying and rigging night will be a set date, and there will be a window of a couple prime weeks where you can schedule your guided outing. Call the shop at 605-341-2450, or email us at
dakotaflyangler@gmail.com if you're interested or have any questions! Here's a few pictures of pike from the past two seasons to get your interest piqued.
Karl with a solid Pactola Pike
We sight fished this pike in flooded brush that was 2-3' deep - exciting doesn't begin to describe it!
Happy client with a hefty Pike caught on a popper on the surface
This is absolutely one of the most exciting ways to fish with a fly rod in freshwater, and it's 20 minutes from Rapid City. I'll leave you with a video from last spring on Pactola as a final reminder of why you should try pike on the fly - it's loads of fun!
https://vimeo.com/126646040
Ryan
